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Friday, October 13, 2017

HAPPY DEATH DAY REVIEW

A college student relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer’s identity.

Starring: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, and Ruby Modine

Directed by: Christopher Landon

Written by: Scott Lobdell

Many years ago Bill Murray starred in a comedy called “Groundhog Day,” where he was forced to live the same day over and over again. Now comes “Happy Death Day,” where a college student named Tree (Jessica Rothe) is forced to live her birthday over and over. While both end up stuck in their own day from hell, at least Bill wasn’t being chased by a murderer. This is what Tree is forced to overcome in order to live to the day after her birthday day.

Knowing that this is a horror movie where someone is going to die time after time is exciting. There are so many possibilities there, and opportunities for plenty of blood. However the PG-13 bug bites again, and many of the deaths are cut short as usual. The impact isn’t felt in death, but more when she wakes up in bed the next morning. Still would have preferred the blood, but it does give the audience a little something different.

It just shows that the movie is more about having a little fun getting through the day over and over, and the mystery of who the killer is. Every time Tree wakes up she’s in a different mood. It’s actually funny watching her no matter what mood she’s in, especially in the moments just after she wakes up. She wakes up in the room of a boy named Carter (Israel Broussard), but the really amusing part is her different reactions to his roommate coming in the room.

As for the mystery, it seems like they do a good job of hiding the killer’s identity. There are plenty of characters to pick from, and the audience gets a chance to weed out the killer along with Tree. She actually goes on a mission to eliminate suspects one by one, and death by death. It’s a nice little twist to who the killer is, and how they end her death streak. Speaking of her deaths, the only major issue here is that there’s no good reason for this to happen. Basically she’s not a good person and is going through this in order to change her life for the better. That’s a weak explanation for a horror movie!

“Groundhog Day” was a comedy, and “Happy Death Day” takes a similar path with a horror theme. It’s not on the same comedic level as a Bill Murray comedy, but it turns out to have its funny moments here and there. It's also entertaining trying to figure out the killer, and the twisty way the movie concludes. However, it’s a horror movie, and it would’ve been nicer to have a more bloody movie released on Friday the 13th, but that’s just me! With that, I give it 2.5 pools of blood.